Walter Reinhardt Sombre
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Walter Reinhardt (born c. 1725 in Strasbourg or Treves[1], died 1778[2]) was an adventurer and mercenary in India from the 1760s.
His nationality is uncertain, being given in various sources as Austrian[3], French[4], German[5], Luxemburger, or Swiss[6]. His nickname Sombre[7] was a nom de guerre, and is more commonly used for him, in Indian sources.
He was a turncoat, changing sides for advantage. When he was employed by Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal, he was blamed for a massacre at Patna[8].
He attained a position from Shah Alam II, briefly held before his death, ruling Sardana; through his marriage to Begum Samru, she followed in his place there.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Details as given in Michaud, Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne, entry Somrou)
- ^ Sardhana Fair - Christian Fair Sardhana - Sardhana Fair Meerut India - Christian Fair Meerut
- ^ Stephen Neill, A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858
- ^ [1] says Franco-German, but also offers Salzburg as birthplace.
- ^ Dying abode of the unsung Begum Sumru, The Milli Gazette, Vol.5 No.09, MG103 (1-15 May 04)
- ^ [2] calls him Swiss-German.
- ^ Summer, Samru, Sumroo, Somroo, Sombrou, Somrou, Somru, Sumru.
- ^ Mir Kasim was defeated in two pitched battles at Gheria and Udhanala (Oodeynullah) in August and September 1763, and in revenge ordered the massacre of all his prisoners, which was carried out with the help of a renegade in his employment named Walter Reinhardt, (afterwards the husband of the famous Begum Samru). About sixty Englishmen were murdered on this occasion, the bodies being thrown into a well belonging to the house in which they were confined.1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
